Investment Staff Exodus at South Korea’s NPS

Published

1 year ago

on

February 14, 2017

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is experiencing a number of key employee departures within the organization’s investment management department. Sang-Hyun Yoo, the Head of the Global Alternative Investment Division at NPS, has exited the firm. Kyung-Jik Lee, head of NPS’s global public market investment division, has left as well. Kyung-Jik Lee is heading over to an asset management company based in the United States. Before NPS, Kyung-Jik Lee had worked at the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC).

In 2016, approximately 30 investment management staff at NPS exited the organization. From January 1, 2017 to February 12, 2017, an estimated 27 investment management staff exited NPS. The exodus of senior investment officials is exacerbating the problem with younger employees.

Korea’s NPS Invests In Crypto Exchanges Amid Crackdown

South Korean news outlets have reported that South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has unwittingly invested roughly US$ 2.4 million in four local cryptocurrency exchanges – Korbit, Upbit, Coinplug, and Bithumb – even as regulatory officials move to subdue the unbridled enthusiasm for crypto trading that has flourished in the tiny country. The US$ 550 billion pension scheme invested in the cryptocurrency exchanges indirectly through two venture capital funds handled by external managers with exclusive rights over asset allocation, according to an NPS officer.

Crypto trading has proved wildly popular in South Korea, drawing an estimated one million citizens to the largely unregulated exchanges that have cropped up over the past few years. South Korea, which is ranked first in the world in terms of internet sped, is the largest market for cryptocurrency transactions behind Japan and United States, and accounts for 29.8% of trade globally, according to a report released by the Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI) in December 2017.

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